House of Minis: The Good Old Steak

Remember the days when the most common concept of steak was when it was served in a sizzling plate? Nowadays, we would probably call it fake steak because honestly, that was no way to treat a piece of meat1. Still, there was one that was better than most and it was probably served by the House of Minis.

It’s probably the nostalgia that got us to go back2. Ryan mentioned that the last time he ate at House of Minis in Greenhills was about 10 years ago. I can only remember eating here one time. I used to eat their steaks at the fast food of Shangri-la Mall, but those bastards closed for some reason. I wouldn’t normally advocate fast food, but that was my only exception. And it was quite a surprised that there was still a packed house3.

Now, the place hasn’t changed at all. Same decor, same menu and the only difference from 10 years ago is the price. The menu is simple. Order a steak and it comes with soup of the day4, bread, salad, and dessert.

Dinner Rolls (L), Salad (M), Soup of the Day (R)

The dinner rolls weren’t anything special. They were hot, served with cold butter. It was good to dunk the bread into the soup though. Couldnt’ care less about the salad. Looked more like coleslaw than a salad, and looked totally unappetizing. But the soup was still as good as I remember it to be. Not a soup guy, but I don’t mind having this again — creamy mushroom soup with bits of corn and string beans.

Their steaks come with buttered vegetables and fried potatoes made to look like fries. My order was the Pepper Steak. Not to be confused with the steak smothered in peppercorns5, their take on the pepper steak is bell peppers with a tenderloin cut. I always order this, cooked medium rare, and I can’t complain about the taste. Beef was kind of tough, which was unusual for a tenderloin. 6 The part I got had veins and the meat itself was a bit tough. Cooked well though, so it must be the beef itself.

Pepper Steak (P350.00 or $7.80)

Ryan’s got a Porterhouse, which he said was quite tender. Maybe I should’ve ordered that instead. Porterhouse is just like a T-bone. The only difference is the cut of meat. Porterhouse steaks typically cost more because they have a larger cut of tenderloin.

Porterhouse Steak (P350.00 or $7.80)

They serve their steaks on a hot plate, which I think tends to cook the meat more than it needs to. Nonetheless, tastes good save for the quality of beef. The gravy is good enough and I would’ve wanted some carbs to go with the meat.7 Ironic that I actually prefer the old Shangri-La fast food version. Same amount of serving without the salad and dessert, comes with rice, unlimited gravy, and way cheaper than this version. I’m forgetting something else. Oh, right! Dessert never came! I guess they forgot the same thing.

emember the days when the most common concept of steak was when it was served in a sizzling plate? Nowadays, we would probably call it fake steak because honestly, that was no way to treat a piece of meat. Still, there was one that was better than most and it was probably served by the …

Review Overview

Food

Value for Money

Service

50

Overall Experience

Summary : A bit expensive relative to the quality. Taste isn't bad, but not great value.